Extensible furniture leg



H. M. STRICKLER 2,149,195'

' EXTENSIBLE FURNITURE LEG Feb. 28, 1939.

Filed nee. 28, 1937 gm: 5 m

Patented Feb. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EXTENSIBLE FURNITURE. LEG

Herbert M. Strickler, P

aris, Ky., assignor of one- 6 Claims.

This invention relates to legs for furniture, and more particularly, to the type known as extensible legs.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a furniture leg which may, when the weight or pressure is released therefrom, extend itself so that the article of furniture or portion thereof which it supports is elevated from its normal position.

Another object of this invention is to provide an extensible furniture leg which is relatively automatic in its operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an extensible furniture leg which is neat in appearance in both its normal and extended positions, simple in construction and operation, having few moving parts and cheap to manufacture and install on furniture.

Other objects will be apparent from an inspection of the specification and drawing, in which Figure 1 is a sectional view of a chair showing the leg in its normal unextended position;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a chair showing the leg in its extended position;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the leg in its extended position;

Figure 4 is a sectional View of the leg in its ex-' tended position taken on line 3-3 of Figure 3, and showing the swinging section of the leg in dotted lines when the same is in its normal unextended position; and,

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the leg when in its normal unextended position.

As will readily be seen, the leg is divided vertically into sections I and 2. Section I is attached to the base 3 of the chair in any known manner, and section 2 is connected at its base to the base of section I by a pivotal connection generally indicated at 4, but section 2 is not connected directly to the chair.

Looking particularly at Figures 3 and 4, it will be seen that the pivotal connection generally indicated at 4 is housed in recesses 8 and 9 formed in sections I and 2 of the leg respectively. By this construction, practically all of the pivotal connection is hidden from view when the leg is in its normal unextended position, and none of the pivotal connection is visible when viewing the leg from the front when the same is in its extended position.

A coiled spring I0 is mounted on the pivotal connection l, for the purpose of separating the top portions of sections I and 2, and due to the pivotal connection generally indicated at 4, the section 2 will swing downwardly and assume the position as shown in Figure 2, when the front portion of the chair is raised.

Looking at Figure 5, the base of section I generally indicated at II, and the base of section 2 generally indicated at I2, form coacting seats for each other when the leg is in its extended position, as will be seen in Figures 2 and l. A recess I is formed in the base II of section I to house the tip or caster 5 mounted on the base I2 of section 2. See Figure 4.

Referring again to Figure 1, the leg is in its normal unextended position, supporting the chair on the floor. The tip or caster 5 bears some, if not most of the weight of the chair, and is secured to the base i I of section 2, thereby creating an upward pressure on section 2. The downward pressure is exerted through the base of the chair 3 to section 5. It will thus be seen that because of the pivotal connection of the sections I and 2 at their bases II and I2 respectively, and because of the upward pressure exerted on section 2 and the downward pressure exerted on section I, the sections will bind or wedge themselves together at their inner surfaces generally indicated at It and I3 respectively. Because of this wedging or binding action, it is unnecessary to provide any attachments for securing the sections I and 2 tightly together when the chair is resting on the floor in its normal unextended position.

Assuming now that the chair is raised from the floor, the weight of pressure on section 2 is released, and the separating action of the spring it will cause section 2 to swing downwardly (following the direction of the arrow as shown in Figure 2) so that the tip or caster 6 secured to the top of section 2 will rest upon the fioor. Because the recess 7 formed in base I I of section I houses the tip or caster 5, base I2 of section 2 will seat itself with base I I of section I, thereby forming a rigid extended leg. The only overt act necessary to perform in order to extend the leg and thereby keep the chair in an elevated position is to tip the chair backwardly and release the pressure on the front legs. After this is done, the leg or legs will automatically extend and stay in the extended position under normal usage of the chair. When it is desired to lower the chair and fold the leg into its normal position, the occupant (while remaining seated) merely slides the chair slightly forward. This forward movement of the chair breaks the seat formed by the flush engagement of bases II and I2, and the pressure exerted on section 2 forces the same upwardly, following the direction of the arrow as shown in Figure 4. The

leg then assumes its normal unextended position as shown in Figure 1.

While I have shown my invention in the drawing used in connection with a chair, and particularly adaptable for keeping the same in a tilted position, it will be obvious that the same could be used for any type of furniture having legs Where it would be desirable to raise or tilt the same. As for instance, my invention is applicable to beds, tables, desks, Ottomans, davenports, etc., and could be used to tilt part or all of the articles of furniture, or, if all supporting legs are constructed in accordance with my invention, the article of furniture may be raised and kept in such raised position as long as desired.

Also, while I have shown the entire leg divided into two sections, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that only the lower portion of the leg need be divided to come within the scope of my inventoin, and the leg or lower portion thereof could readily be divided into three or more sections as desired.

Again, while I have shown the swinging section opening from the back, and swinging forward to assume the extended position of the leg, it will be obvious that it may be so positioned so as to open from the front or either side, as desired. If the leg or lower portion is divided into three or more sections, one section may open from one position while another section may open from another position, etc.

The type of spring and pivotal connection shown is of conventional design, and any other type suitable for this construction may be used. It will also be understood that insofar as the basic concept of my invention is concerned it is not necessary to provide means for separating the sections because when the weight is released from the chair as shown in Figure 1, section 2 will fall downwardly by the action of gravity. A spring or other means for separating the sections is desirable, however, in order to assure fast and complete swinging action of section 2.

I claim:

1. A furniture leg divided vertically into a plurality of sections, said sections being pivotally connected at their bases, means attached to said sections to separate the same, a recess in the base of one section to house a caster extending from the base of another section when one section is swung to extend longitudinally from another section, and recesses formed in the sides of each section to house the pivotal connection.

2. In an article of furniture, an extensible leg comprising a plurality of vertical sections, one of said sections being attached to the base of the furniture and another of said sections being free at its upper portion, said sections being pivotally connected together at their bases, means for forcing the section which is free at its upper portion downwardly, a recess formed in the base of the section which is attached to the base of the furniture to house the caster extending from the base of the section which is free at its upper portion when said section is swung to extend longitudinally of the attached section so that the bases of each section forms a coacting seat for each other when the leg is in its extended position, a recess in the side of each section to house the pivotal connection.

3. In an article of furniture, an extensible leg comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being attached to the article of furniture and another of said sections being free at its upper portion, said sections being pivotally connected together at their base portions, the base of said section which is free at its upper portion contacting the supporting surface of the article of furniture when the leg is in its unextended position, and means for automatically swinging the section which is free at its upper portion downwardly so as to extend substantially longitudinally in line with the attached section when the weight of the article of furniture is removed from the sections.

4. In an article of furniture, an extensible leg comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being attached to the article of furniture and another of said sections being free at its upper portion, said sections being pivotally connected together at their base portions, the base of said section which is free at its upper portion contacting the supporting surface of the article of furniture when the leg is in its unextended position, and means for automatically swinging the section which is free at its upper portion downwardly so as to extend substantially longitudinally in line with the attached section when the weight of the article of furnture is removed from the sections, the bases of each section forming a coacting seat for each other when the leg is in its extended position, thereby forming a rigid extended leg.

5. In an article of furniture, an extensible leg comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being attached to the article of furniture and another of said sections being free at its upper portion, said sections being pivotally connected together at their base portions, the base of the section which is free at its upper portion contacting the supporting surface of the article of furniture to produce a binding action with the attached section when the leg is in its unextended position, and the section which is free at its upper portion being adapted to automatically swing downwardly and extend substantially longitudinally in line with the attached section when the weight of the article of furniture is removed from the sections.

6. In an article of furniture, an extensible leg comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being attached to the article of furniture and another of said sections being free at its upper portion, said sections being pivotally connected together at their base portions, the base of the section which is free at its upper portion contacting the supporting surface of the article of furniture to produce a binding action with the attached section when the leg is in its unextended position, the section which is free at its upper portion being adapted to automatically swing downwardly so as to extend substantially longitudinally in line with the attached section when the weight of the article of furniture is removed from the sections, and the bases of each section forming a coacting seat for each other when the leg is in its extended position, thereby forming a rigid extended leg.

HERBERT M. STRICKLER. 

